The present invention relates to oxy-fuel burners, which are commonly implemented to produce elevated temperatures in industrial melting or heating furnaces.
In many oxy-fuel burner applications, such as in furnaces for melting glass and metals, it is desirable to have a highly radiative (also referred to as “luminous”) flame. It is believed that a highly radiative flame provides more efficient heat transfer to the material being heated, as well as more even heating, than a less radiative flame. A problem with gaseous fuels is that highly luminous flames are difficult to produce. While oxidant staging and the use of a precombustor have been used to improve flame luminosity of natural gas flames, more highly luminous flames are desirable.
Related art includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,575,637, 5,611,682 and 6,705,117, as well as U.S. Publication No. 2006/0035184.